Lifestyles of Anglo-Americans and Japanese

The following section reviews studies that examined the lifestyles of Anglo-American and Japanese individuals based on the following three segmentation approaches: AIO statements (the study of Sun, Horn & Merritt, 2004), VALS typology (U.S.-VALS and Japan-VALS framework), and geo-demographic analysis (Mosaic USA and Mosaic Japan). These studies identified significant differences in lifestyle profiles between the two nationality groups.

3.3.2.1 AIO approach

Sun, Horn and Merritt (2004) examined differences in lifestyles of consumers between individualist cultures such as Britain and the USA, and collectivist cultures such as China and Japan. The lifestyles were measured based on the data of the 2001 DDB Needham multinational brand capital study, which included questions regarding consumer attitudes, interests, opinions, activities and demographics. The study involved around 4000 participants in total from all four countries. The scholars revealed significant differences between the lifestyles of the examined country clusters, some of which were in line with individualistic and collectivistic characteristics commonly attributed to those societies (Sun, Horn & Merritt, 2004).

For instance, consumers from individualist societies were more satisfied with their current lives, while collectivist consumers were more pessimistic about their current state of being.

Consumers from the USA and Britain showed a higher degree of financial satisfaction and optimism and were more confident in their abilities to manage finances. They were also more

inclined to purchase well-known brands. Additionally, consumers from individualist cultures displayed a higher tendency to travel to different places. In comparison to British and American consumers, respondents from Japan and China were more concerned about their personal appearance and the way they were perceived by other individuals. Moreover, they assessed themselves as being impulsive buyers and unplanned consumers. Collectivists showed greater willingness to be influenced by members of their own groups and were less likely to recognize themselves as opinion leaders. They also appeared to be more family-oriented than individualists. The attitude of Japanese and Chinese respondents towards gender roles was also more conservative. Finally, they appeared to be less tolerable of uncertainty and risk (compared to the British and Americans) and more willing to pursue their routine lifestyles (Sun, Horn & Merritt, 2004).

3.3.2.2 VALS framework: U.S.-VALS and Japan-VALS

The VALS typology provides further evidence for differences in lifestyles between Anglo-American and Japanese nationality groups. The U.S.-VALS comprises eight segments:

innovators, thinkers, believers, achievers, strivers, experiencers, makers, and survivors (Strategic Business Insights, 2012a), who differ with regard to their attitudes, behaviour and decision-making (Weinstein, 1994). Please refer to Table 20 Appendix II for the detailed explanation of each segment, and Figure 5 Appendix I for the graphical representation of the U.S.-VALS types.

Japan-VALS differs from the U.S.-VALS typology in that it takes into account the unique features of Japanese society. Japan-VALS is arguably “the most reliable and powerful market analysis tool for Japan available today” (Strategic Business Insights, 2012b). It comprises ten segments with different lifestyle characteristics: integrators, self-innovators, self-adapters, ryoshiki innovators, ryoshiki adapters, tradition innovators, tradition adapters, high pragmatics, low pragmatics, and sustainers (Strategic Business Insights, 2012b). Please refer to Table 21 Appendix II for the detailed explanation of each segment, and Figure 6 Appendix I for the graphical representation of the Japan-VALS types.

Overall, the VALS framework demonstrates that Americans and Japanese exhibit distinct lifestyle profiles. The U.S.-VALS and Japan-VALS segmentation tools were specifically designed to be applied in the respective societies. The resulting lifestyle clusters are therefore unique with respect to the two nationality groups. The developers of VALS emphasize that

“each country is unique in terms of the distribution of types and the relative status of types in the country” (Strategic Business Insights, 2010: 3). Thus, it is essential to closely examine the unique lifestyle patterns when segmenting and marketing to different nations.

3.3.2.3 Geo-demographics: Mosaic USA and Mosaic Japan

The geo-demographic approach further supports the existence of distinct lifestyle profiles for Japanese and Anglo-Americans. The Mosaic method of consumer segmentation, developed by Experian, has been applied in more than 20 countries all over the globe (Experian Information Solutions, 2009).

Mosaic USA represents a “household-based segmentation system that classifies all U.S.

households and neighbourhoods into 60 unique Mosaic USA types and 12 groupings”

(Experian Information Solutions, 2009). It provides extensive information about U.S.

consumers with regard to socio-demographics, lifestyles, behaviours, and culture. The twelve identified groups of U.S. consumers are as follows: affluent suburbia, upscale America, small-town contentment, blue-collar backbone, American diversity, metro fringe, remote America, aspiring contemporaries, rural villages and farms, struggling societies, urban essence, and varying lifestyles (Experian Information Solutions, 2009).

Mosaic Japan classified Japanese consumers into 50 different neighbourhood types and compiled them into 11 neighbourhood groups. Likewise to Mosaic USA, it portrays socio-demographics, lifestyles, culture, and behaviour of consumers. The identified segments were:

metropolitan careerists, graduate newcomers, campus lifestyles, older communities, middle Japan, corporate success story, burdened optimists, social housing tenants, blue collar owners, rural fringe, and deeply rural (Experian Ltd, 2006).

Similarly to the VALS typology, every socio-demographic lifestyle segment fashioned by Mosaic in each of the two countries displays unique characteristics reflecting the essence of the countries’ environments. Experian identifies that “each country classification is unique and is intended to reflect the distinctive socio-demographic lifestyles of consumers in that region” (Experian Ltd, 2006) Nevertheless, Mosaic Global also documented the existence of neighbourhood types that exhibit demographic and lifestyle characteristics that were present in all examined nations (Experian Ltd, 2007).

Overall, the lifestyle typologies of Japanese and Anglo-American consumers, identified by

the AIO, VALS and geo-demographic approaches, exhibited considerable differences relating to the nations’ unique social environments and characteristics (see Table 3). Even though there is a documented existence of similar lifestyle clusters between many countries (e.g.

Mosaic Global), one generally observes significant variations in lifestyles between the two examined nationality groups.

Hence, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 1: Anglo-American and Japanese tourists participating in package tours exhibit different lifestyle orientations.

Table 3: Summary of selected studies exhibiting differences in lifestyles between nations

Author Year Theory Methods Main Findings

Sun, Horn,

Values, attitudes, and lifestyles. VALS Survey, U.S.-VALS, Japan-VALS.

Distinct lifestyle consumer segments unique to Japanese and American societies.